How Can You Practice the D major Chord on the Piano?

Do you know which notes are in the D major chord? This article will show you three ways to play this chord on the piano.

Table of Contents

What Does the D major Chord Look Like on the Piano?

The symbol for the D major chord is D.

The notes of the D chord are D – F# – A.

The D chord is a triad because it has three notes: root (D), major third (F#), and perfect fifth (A).

The picture below shows how to play the notes of the D major chord on the piano in root position:

You can see that the first note from the left is D (the root), the second note is F# (the major third), and the third note is A (the perfect fifth).

Making the assumption that you are playing the D chord in root position the lowest note is D.

Here is how to remember the notes of the D major chord:

Start from the first note of the chord (the root) that for the D major chord is D.
To find the second note of the chord calculate a major third from the root (F#).
Then to find the third note of the chord calculate the perfect fifth from the root (A).

This applies if you are playing the D major chord in root position.

The 1st inversion of the D chord starts with the note F#.

The picture below shows how to play the notes of the D major chord on the piano in the first inversion:

In the 1st inversion, you shift the root of the D chord (D) one octave higher compared to the root position.

The notes of the D chord in the 1st inversion are F# – A – D.

The 2nd inversion of the D chord starts with the note A.

Below you can see how to play the notes of the second inversion of the D major chord on the piano:

In the 2nd inversion, you also shift the third of the D chord (F#) up one octave.

The notes of the 2nd inversion of the D chord are A – D – F#.

The D chord is a triad (a chord with three notes) and it doesn’t have a 3rd inversion because it would be the same as the root position.

The following articles show you how to play other D chords: